Page 296 - The extraordinary leader

The Importance of Follow-Through • 273

Positive Neutral Negative

Follow-Up Occurred on Survey 79 15 7

No Follow-Up on Survey 34 24 42

% Neutral % Negative
(Showing the percentage of employee satisfaction in each category under conditions of follow-up or
no follow-up on an employee survey performed for a leader’s group.)
Exhibit 14-3 Employee Satisfaction Results

summarized the performance results of his or her work group. Managers were
asked to perform two simple tasks as follow-through on the survey:

● Hold a feedback meeting with their work teams.
● Take action on one issue.

One year after the initial survey, a postsurvey was conducted in which
employees were asked if their work groups used the survey to make improve-
ments. A comparison of employee satisfaction was made between the groups
that did or did not follow up using the survey. Exhibit 14-3 shows those
employee satisfaction results.
As is evident from Exhibit 14-3, group members responded 79 percent pos-
itively on an employee satisfaction index when follow-up meetings and change
efforts occurred. On the other hand, only 34 percent of the group members
responded positively on employee satisfaction when no follow-up work had
taken place. The cost and effort associated with the employee survey process
was largely in creating the survey and ensuring that every employee completed
it. The requested follow-up meetings didn’t represent a substantial increase in
time or effort for each manager, but a significant portion of managers never find
the time to hold such meetings unless a great deal of pressure is placed on them.

Steps for Better Follow-Up
In the T D article “The New Leadership Development,” the authors wrote:

“Leadership programs have traditionally been one or two-week events. In
participants’ minds, when the event was over, leadership development for the year